Ryan Kent can be Rangers’ temporary striking saviour despite three goal haul – Jonny McFarlane 

This is the tough situation Rangers are now in after Kemar Roofe was ruled out for three games with a knee injury against Celtic.

It’s a disaster compounded by the absence of first choice Alfredo Morelos, struck down on international duty with a thigh complaint. 

Giovanni van Bronckhorst said of Roofe and injured Welshman Aaron Ramsey: “We hope to have them back around the week against Leipzig at home.  

“Our medical department will do everything they can to get them back as soon as possible. It's the last games of the season. It’s important games but we have to go on.” 

He continued: “I think there are challenges, as I call them, to resolve. We have less players available in our attacking department, but we still have quality.  

“The players who are going to play, they have to step up and show why they are in this football club.” 

The manager has a huge job on his hands.

Motherwell, Leipzig and Celtic. Three games with different challenges, all without a trusted number 9. 

So who are the men that would be king, or at least look to raise the roof(e)?

Third choice striker Fashion Sakala hasn’t covered himself in glory as a central striker, looking more effective in wide areas. 

The Zambian international is 25 and should be hitting his peak but plays without finesse and looks to be the perennial rough diamond. He was thrown in against Braga in Portugal in an attempt to add penetrating pace on the counter but delivered little more than disappointment. 

Ally McCoist gave a withering assessment on co-commentary duties suggesting you can have all the pace in the world, but if you don’t know what to do with it, you can’t be effective. 

READ MORE: Rangers predicted line-ups against Motherwell as Steven Davis tipped to return and Fashion Sakala to lead the line

Sakala seems a lovely guy, he grafts and seems to love being a Ranger which endears him to fans but there’s been little evidence on the pitch he has the quality in his game to seize the mantle from Roofe and Morelos. 

The fourth choice is just as erratic.

Cedric Itten was recalled from Greuther Fürth in Germany’s Bundesliga in January. It seemed van Bronckhorst might have plans for the Swiss international and he was thrown into the fray with two starts on his return to Glasgow against Livingston and Ross County.  

Let's be charitable and say he did not impress. While the striker has rarely been given a run in the side to impose himself on Rangers, he’s similarly never been one to truly grasp opportunities when they come up. 

A strange hybrid of different capabilities, Itten's something of a jigsaw puzzle. A big man, but not particularly imposing in the air, decent on the ball but can get in a technical guddle and a solid finisher who seems to spend a lot of time outside of the box.  

A summer transfer seems a wise move for all parties given the deal simply hasn’t worked out. 

Beyond those two, you are looking at unproven but talented youngsters like Tony Weston who it would be unfair to throw in at this stage without any experience of top-level football.

While there’s no way of ever testing a kid’s ability to adapt other than blooding them, that’s surely a gamble to be taken on days less crucial to the club’s history. 

That brings us to the man who should be king. 

He’s not a finisher.

He’s only scored three goals this season.

He’s not even a striker.

But for me the outstanding candidate to play up front is Ryan Kent. 

A player of immense gifts, there’s no doubting his quality. He has the skill to do whatever he wants in the game and is surely destined for a higher level of football.

Against Celtic and Leipzig, you are better to go with someone who guarantees you such a level rather than a roll of the dice. 

Kent’s pace, power and trickery have tortured the best defences in the Europa League over four years. He’s been outstanding and he rarely lets the club down in the largest of games. 

With a contract up at the end of next season, Kent’s in the biggest shop window of his career. He’s already surely got Bundesliga clubs on high alert after what he did to Dortmund and van Bronckhorst should trust him to do the same in Leipzig and Parkhead.

His goalscoring record this season has been poor, there's no getting away from that. But it's not been a campaign littered with shocking Kent finishing, rather he's found himself as more of a creator. 

His assist numbers are already better than for the whole of last season.

If he finds himself in better scoring situations, you'd back him to find the net with more regularity.

And while his finishing isn't as good as natural strikers, you at least know Kent will pose defenders serious questions.

Of course he won't be a muscular leader of the line in the manner of Morelos and the team would have to be adapted slightly, but the nimble skills he possesses can unsettle a defence in a totally different way.

At least Giovanni van Bronckhorst has legitimate choices to make.

A man who likes options, he has already proven tactical adaptation to be a managerial forte.

Success in these next three games might see him promoted from tinkerman to magician.